worried about dd - what could cause this?

dd is 16. she is almost 5ft 8 but very slim despite eating really well. a few months ago she had problems with her heart absolutely racing and chest pain - we saw a gp and also went to A&E but the A&E doctor dismissed it as hyperventilation.this didnt ring quite right for me as dd is very level headed, not prone to panic and very laid back, but we accepted the dx and went home.

yesterday she fainted - she was out totally for a good few minutes. she had eaten breakfast. (2 weetabix with milk and apple juice)when she got home she ate 2 boiled eggs and 3 slices of toast.

we saw a gp today who says she has low blood pressure and is very underweight. we are taking her for blood tests tomorrow.

dd is baffled - she eats really really well. she says she is always hungry.despite this she is a size 6.she is always tired. she comes home and goes to bed most nights. she lays in bed a lot and often looks "peeky" .she is on iron tablets as she was slightly B12 deficient.she is on the pill but says she has been on it about a year with no ill effects so far.she has recently started coughing at night. she used to be asthmatic but grew out of it - recently she has found she has needed an inhaler again and coughs at night.

im resisting the urge to google.....so im asking if anyone knows what could cause these symptoms - im not sure whether they are all unrelated.i will confess i am worried and trying not to be. does anyone have any ideas? thanks

definitely not bullimic. She really doesnt seem to bother about her weight at all, she is just naturally very slim but her father is 6ft 5 tall and he only weighed 10 stone for years. i was also very slight at that age and weighed only 7st 4. (until i hit my mid 30s then it was all downhill from there! )

there are no signs of bullimia at all - her teeth are good, she eats with us a fair bit, and am sure i would hear her if she was making herself sick.

i will ask for the results and also see if she will allow me to go with her back to the gp. she asked me last night what to do next. i said when she has a free day we will go back to gp. thanks all.

we are saying this because we know! we have suffered because we didn't. all we needed to do was ask, then look up ourselves on the internet.

take b12 as an example. why is she b12 deficient? what are her levels now? are they really optimal? ditto iron. i feel awful until they are about 70 ferritin. i sleep in the afternoon. i am knackered. the gp is happy if they are 15 - this is 'normal'. well if normal is needing to sleep all day . . .

You said her b12 levels were low - is she supplementing b12? either with injections from GP or tablets, or sublinguals (tablets which melt under the tongue for better absorbency). Ask for copies of all blood tests from your surgery (you are entitled to these - there may be a nominal charge for copying or printing). Check the b12 level and the acceptable range. She needs to be well above the bottom of range. Is she low on vit D or ferritin and what is her folate level? I agree she should have thyroid checks too. My teenage daughter is vitamin b12 deficient and also has low ferritin, folate and vit D. She has regular b12 injections and is on folic acid, vit D and iron supplements. She also fainted a week ago and appears to have a viral infection - currently awaiting more blood test results. Please push for investigations - there is a very good b12 def website called b12d.org which lists possible symptoms. Good luck.

There is a blood test you can do to check for coeliacs (my sister has it and they are testing me for it now as I have abdominal pain and weird bowel movements but unfortunately put on more weight, not less).

think about POTS which could explain the fainting, heart racing, the low blood pressure and the exhaustion. Measure heart rate lying down, then after standing up - if it rises by more than 30 bpm within 10 minutes, then suggest it to the GP (who won't have heard of it, but can look up dysautonomia or autonomic dysfunction which are the catch-all terms).

Hope you get to the bottom of it though. If it is POTS, PM me and I may be able to recommend a consultant.

Yes, my vision when I faint, everything goes really bright and bleached, then it goes black from the outside in - like a TV being turned off, just as goodasitgets says. Fortunately, it's only happened a handful of times in my life.

I don't know if it helps but I don't have any heart problems but I always have a loss of vision before I faint. My eyes go like an tv that isn't tuned in. Used to happen before I had a fit too. Was a warning sign for me and gave me enough time to sit down

i will ask her leverette. The only symptom she mentioned was loss of vision and that has happened twice now....only the first time she didnt faint - she just felt sick and weak - she thought it was a migraine.

niSaBula - i just want to know what it is tbh....its a bit of a worry. im hoping the bloods might give some answers.

Interesting re loss of vision prior to loss of consciousness. Does she recall any chest pain or sensations occurring at the same time as loss of vision. Would def recommend cardiology investigations to detect any arrythmias eg long QT and brugada syndrome.

Sounds, like the symptoms I experienced before being diagnosed with an overactive thyroid. I had palpitations, my hands shook, tiredness and I was anxious despite normally being laid back. I also lost weight suddenly. A simple blood test showed I had an overactive thyroid. I found the patientuk website really informative for finding out about thyroid disorders.

That's ok Vicar, it's just I see so many people who are outraged when we say they're hyperventilating as they think its a criticism and we're fobbing them off with an 'it's all in the mind and you're being silly' attitude which isn't true.Were bloods taken in a&e? They will have tested for certain heart problems as particular levels in the blood can alarm to certain conditions.I would second getting in touch with CRY, they do free cardiac tests and can email you when a testing facility comes to your area.The GP might organise a 24 hour tape which might pick something up. I guess it's a process of elimination. Hope you get some answers soon.